Filling machine of the continuous variety



Dec. 19, 1939. P. R. FECHHEIMER 2,184,117

FILLING MACHINE 0F THE CONTINUOUS VARIETY BY MGF QM ATTRNEYB.

Dec. 19, 1939. P. R. FECHHEIMER FILLING MACHINE 0F THE CONTINUOUSVARIETY Filed March 17, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 mw .wu E.

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l N VENTOR. BWL ['c//Hf/ME/a ATTORNEYS.

Dec. 19, 1939. P. R. FECHHEIMER FILLING MACHINE 0F THE CONTINUOUSVARIETY Filed March 17, 1937 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 mm 6. mw m E? O n W.. 4 5I ...M 0 N M .l u I E 3 .1 bil) y, L l 7 u mi W Mw um mm V l r n n` 3 l9 2 H l W H 5 2 m5 BMV L 3 m 0 f M03 al 0 7 M ,M /5 M 7 7 9 M Dec.. 19,1939. P. R. FECHHEIMER 2,184,117

FILLING MACHINE OF THE CONTINUOUS VARIETY Filed March 1'?, 1937 4Sheets-Sheet 4 58 ,ll 56 57j 55 EG-.6. 50 Q) lll.

.17.VENTOR. P41/.1 R. FEC/Hf/Mf/e.

Fira. Il. I BY M 9L M4 -x'rTcRNEmt lll Patented Dee. 19, 1939 UNITEDSTATES rn'rlszrrrv oFFice Paul R. Fcchheimcr, Cincinnati, Ohio, assignerto The Karl Kiefer Machine Company, Cincinnati, Ohio, a corporation oiOhio Application March 17,

t 13 claims.

My invention relates to iilling machines for jars, cans, bottles,collapsible tubes or the like, which filling machines are designed tooperate during the continuous travel of the containers to be filled. Amachine of this general class is set forth in the Patent No. 1,313,301of Karl Kiefer, dated August 19, 1919. In this machine there is arotative table about which the containers pass under the iniiuence ofwhat is essentially, or may be thought of as, a star-wheel or itsequivalent. Above this table is located a member rotating therewith,having a plurality of filling spouts adapted to be positioned in properrelationship to the individual containers to be filled, and to traveltherewith during the iilling operation. These filling spouts areprovided with suitable ports in the rotative member; and above therotative member there is a stationary member having a single portsupplied through suitable piping with the material to be iilled into thecontainers. As the rotative member turns in synchronism with thecontainers the several ports therein come into communication with theport in the stationary member aforesaid, and a measured quantity of thematerial to be illled into the containers passes through each llingspout, because the full output of the pump is always discharging throughone and only one spout, except during that short interval in which oneport is closing on and another opening up. 'I'his interval is so shortthat it does not aect the accuracy of fill.

The objects of my invention are the provision of certain improvements indevices of this general character, and in particular the provision ofsuch means as will permit the more rapid lling of containers, and willpermit lling of containers in a more eiective manner albeit morerapidly. Also it is a purpose of my invention to permit the ling ofcontainers with measured quantities of more than one substance, ifdesired.

These and the more speciiic objects of my invention will be moreparticularly pointed out hereinafter or will be apparent to one skilledin the art upon reading these specications; and for the sake of clarity,reference is now made to the drawings wherein:

Figure l is an elevational view of my machine with portions cut away.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the stationary member of the lling head.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the rotary member of the lling head showing onef the lilng spouts in position.

1937, Serial No. 131,427

Fig. 4 is a. horizontal sectional view of my machine taken along thelines 4-4 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a plan view with parts in section of the iilling mechanism andcontainer moving mechanism with guides, showing portions of a safetyfeature which I have provided.

Fig. 6 is a vertical, and partially sectional, view through the portionof the machine shown in Fig. 5, and is a view taken along the lines 6 6of that ligure. 10

Fig. 7 is a view of a mercury switch operating mechanism used inconjunction with a safety means aforesaid, and is a view taken alongvthe lines l--l of Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a vertical sectional view through the w mechanism which turnsthe revolving table, and shows a safety device used inconnection'therewith. It s a view taken along the lines -fl of Fig. 4.

Fig. 9 is a vertical elevation of another mer- 20 cury switch operating.device shown in Fig. 8.

Fig. 10 is a wiring diagram.

Fig. 1l shows in section a somewhat different arrangement of the xed andmovable ller heads.

In the illling of containers with measured quantities of materialthrough a spout, and depending in considerable measure upon the natureof the material being introduced into the containers, it is not alwayspracticable to obtain 80 greater speed by merely increasing the ow ofmaterial and speeding up the machine. Under these circumstances, aconsiderable quantity oi material may be lost by splashing, ordiiiiculty may be had with foaming of the material. On the other hand,it is not possible in a machine of this type to secure more rapid llingby simply connecting two or more spouts at any one time to the source ofmaterial, since there is no way of controlling how much of the materialn will be fed into each container. Again, itis not practicable in amachine of this character having one portion oi' the lling headstationary and one portion rotating, to attempt to fill more than onecontainer at one time with completely inde'- 45 pendent sources ofsupply, since it is' not possible to arrange the ports to this endwithout a complete redesign of the entire head. It is possible toarrange a series of ports in a xed and' movable head combinationconcentrically, and connect different spouts selectively with differentports. A separate pump will be provided for connection with each port.In this way a plurality of containers may simultaneously be filled on asingle rotary table. But here there is the probe lem of setting up andoperating a plurality of pumps each to deliver exactly the same quantityof material in a given length of time. I do not attempt to cover suchstructure and arrangement in the present application. In the system andconstruction here disclosed, each container receives exactly the samequantity of material because it is in connection for the same lengths oftime with the same pumps which have lled adjacent containers. Therefore,but one adjustment as to quantity is required for each given size ofcontainer, and all containers filled will be lled exactly alike.

These are illustrative of certain problems which it is a purpose of myinvention to solve, and I have solved them by providing means forintroducing material into more than one container at one time Whileproviding for each spout at any given time a controlled and independentsource of supply of material, by successively bringing the filling spoutfor any one container into communication for a controlled length of timewith different sources of supply. In this way a plurality of containersmay be controllably filled at one time albeit from different sources insuccession; but the utilization of different sources makes it possible,where desired, to introduce into any given container measured amounts ofdifferent substances. Moreover, the rates of lling can be controlled bycontrol of the various sources, so that in filling a container theinitial increment of material may be introduced slowly therein toprevent splashing, whereas additional increments of material may be muchmore rapidly introduced after the first and without danger of splashing.Moreover, the introduction of material into containers by incrementstends to eliminate foaming troubles to some extent.

I shall now proceed to a specific description of my mechanism togetherwith the various drive, safety, adjustment and control means which forma part of my invention. I provide a frame I, upon which, or inconnection with which, the various parts now to be described aremounted. As a prime mover I preferably employ an electric motor 2. Thismotor may be mounted slidably upon a sub-base 9 movable upon a base I8by means of a screw II provided with a handwheel I2. 'Ihe motor isprovided with a pulley, most clearly shown in Fig. 4, as comprising twoconical halves I3 and I4 forming a V-shaped groove for the belt I5. Themember I4 is slidable on the motor shaft 2a and is urged toward 55 themember I3 (which is fixed on the shaft) by a compression spring I6. Thisstructure constitutes a well-known form of variable speed transmission,inasmuch as the effective diameter of the motor pulley may be changed byvarying the position of the motor, as aforesaid.

Power is transmitted by means of the belt I5 to a pulley I1, rotatablymounted upon va main shaft I8, and held in place on the shaft by a smallcollar I9 on one side and a ange collar 20 on the other. Both of thesecollars are pinned to the shaft. The shaft I8 is mounted, of course, insuitable journal bearings in the frame of the machine, which bearingsmay be any desired, and do'not require special description.

A slidable clutch member 2| is splined on the shaft I8 and makesengagement by means of teeth with the pulley I1, as shown at 22. Whenthis engagement is made the shaft I8 will be driven by the pulley I1, aswill be clear. When, however, the clutch member` 2l 1S @Wed 11pwardly inFig. 4, as by means of the clutch lever 23, pivoted as at 24, thedriving engagement will be broken and thc pulley I1 will be free torotate on the shaft I8.

The lever 23 is bifurcated and has the usual engagement with the clutchmember 2I. A link 25 connects the clutch lever l23 with the bell crank26 pivoted on the frame as at 2,1. One end of the bell crank is formedinto an operating handle 28. When this handle is pushed to the right,the clutch will be engaged, as shown.

A tension spring 29, through the intermediary of a rod 30, is placedbetween the clutch lever 23 and a suitable bracket 3l on the frame I ofthe machine; and the purpose of this spring is to urge the lever 23 tothe clutch-disengaged position. In order to hold the clutch in engagedposition, the rod 25 is provided with a collar 32 bearing latch means33. Cooperating latch means 34 are located on a pawl 35 pivoted as at36. A compression spring 31 is appropriately located between the pawland some exterior support such as the frame of the machine, for thepurpose of holding the latch in engagement. Thus when the operatinghandle 28 is thrown and the clutch engaged as hereinabove described,this latching mechanism will hold it in engaged position in spite of thetendency of the spring 29 to throw it out.

As hereinabove described, I have l,provided means urging the clutch intodisengaged position'and a latch for holding it in engaged position, sothat I may provide a safety feature whereby the drive of the machine maybe quickly discontinued upon release of the latch. For this specificpurpose a solenoid 38 is mounted on the frame of the machine and has anarmature 39 having a lost motion connection as at 40 with the pawl 35.'I'he manner and circumstances in which the solenoid becomes energizedwill be set forth hereinafter; but it will be clear at this point thatupon energization of the solenoid the latch will be released, the clutchthrown out and the power drive of the shaft I8 discontinued.

Referring now to Fig. 8, it will be seen that the shaft I8 bears a worm4I which meshes with a worm gear 42. This gear is splined as at 43 to asleeve 44 journaled, as by the roller bearing 45, in a lower housingportion 46. This sleeve is splined as at 41 to another sleeve 48. A mainshaft 49 has a reduced portion 49a passing through the sleeve 48. Acollar 50 is splined as at 5I to the reduced portion of the shaft. Thesleeve 48 has a ball socket 52, and a ball 53 lies in a perforation inthe sleeve 5I) and is urged upwardly by a pin 54. The pin 54 bearsagainst a lever 55 pivoted as at 55 to a bracket 51 on the collar 50. Atension spring 58, engaging the outer end of the lever 55 and also abracket 59 on the collar 50 urges the lever and therefore the pin 54upwardly. The ball 53 therefore normally forms a driving connectionbetween the collar 48 and the collar 50, and permits the shaft 49 to bedriven by the shaft I8 through the mechanism hereinabove set forth.However, should the shaft 4,9 encounter undue resistance to rotation theball 53 is adapted to slip out of the socket 52, thereby allowing theshaft 48 to stop. In doing this the lever 55 will be depressed.

Another lever 60 is pivoted as at 6I upon a suitable bracket 62 oruponvthe frame of the machine. A suitable rounded pin 63 bears againstthe lever 55 at its center of rotation. At its other end, the lever 68is connected by means of a push link 64 vto a lever 85 which carries amercury switch 68. The lever 65 is pivoted to the bracket 62 as at 61.Thus, if a stoppage occurs in the mechanism so as to throw out thesafety drive just described. the lever 00 will be actuated and themercury switch 00 will be operated. This switch, as indicated in Fig. 10is located in a circuit 68 which includes the solenoid 38 and, ofcourse, a suitable source of power. Therefore, when the safety drive isthrown out the solenoid will be actuated and the clutch 2|, 22 will bedisengaged.

The upper part of the housing for the drive for shaft 49 is indicated at83 both in Fig. 8 and in Fig. 4.

Referring again to the latter figure it will be seen that the shaft I0bears rotatably a sprocket member 10 held by collars 1| and 12, andprovided with clutch teeth 13, and another sprocket member i4 of dierentdiameter also rotatably mounted on the shaft, held by a collar 15 and bya bearing member 10. The latter sprocket also has clutch teeth 11. Aclutch member 18 is splined on the shaft I8 and is slidable alternatelyto engage the clutch teeth 13 and 11. A clutch fork 19, pivoted as atand provided with an operating handle 8|, actuates this member. Thesprockets 10 and 14 are connected by chains or another suitable drivingmeans to sprockets 82 and 83, respectively, fixed on a shaft 84journaled on the frame of the machine. By means of the clutcharrangement thus described a two speed drive for the shaft 84 isprovided.

Between the shaft 84 and another shaft 85 I provide a variable speedtransmission indicated broadly at 86 in the several figures. Thisvariable drive may be of any type desired. I have illustrated it as areeves type of drive, that is to say, a type wherein the driving anddriven shafts are each provided with opposed conical pulley portionsslidable on the several shafts and having a connecting belt of xedthickness. By alternate and opposite movement of the pulley sections therelative speeds of the two shafts can be altered, as is well understoodin the art. The movement of the pulley sections to effect the speedchanges may be accomplished by mechanism connected with a shaft 81. Asprocket 88 on this shaft may be connected by means of a chain 89 to asprocket 90 ona shaft 9|, suitably journaled in the frame and bearing ahand-wheel 92 in a position of convenient access. The shaft bears asprocket 93 which is connected by means of a chain or other suitabledrive 94 to a sprocket 95 on a shaft 96, and suitably journaled on theframe. This shaft may be directly connected with a pump 91. The shaft 96also bears a sprocket 98 which may be connected by a chain 99 to thesprocket |00 of a second pump |0|. The ratio of speeds of the pumps 91and lill therefore is fixed, and will be so chosen in ccnnection withthe relative sizes of -the pumps as to cause the flow of materialdelivered by each pump to bear continuously a xed ratio to the dow ofmaterial delivered by the other pump. However, the over all speed ofboth pumps may be determined both by the variable drive indicatedbroadly at 86 and by the variable transmission which is actuated by thelever 8|. By means, therefore, of the lever 8| and the handwheel 92,accurate and gradual speed adjustment over a very wide range may beobtained.

The vertical shaft 49 is provided with a table |02 which is pinned toit, and with a star-wheel or its equivalent |03 also pinned to it. Thecontainers, such as the bottles |04 in Fig. 6, are

brought to the table by a suitable conveyor, as understood in this art,and are placed thereon. The table may be provided with elevatingplatforms indicated at |05 upon which the containers rest, and which maybe elevated by a cam plate |06 so as to bring the containers, at onepoint in their travel, into closer relationship with the filler spoutslocated thereabove, as is usual in this art. 'Ihe shaft 49 bears arotatable filling head |01 as shown in Fig. 3. This head is providedwith inlet ports |00 communicating with horizontal bores |09. The llingspouts ||0 are fastened to the head and have openings in communicationwith theselbores. The rotatable filling head |01 is slidable on theshaft 49, but is keyed thereto or otherwise non-rotatably related to itas at |II. For filling different containers of different effective sizesit is desirable to raise and lower the head |01. This is accomplished bymeans of a nut ||2. The head is provided with a sleeve |01a and the xedfilling head indicated at ||3 fits over this sleeve. To hold it in placeI provide a ring ||4 splined to the sleeve and a nut ||5 threaded on thesleeve. A suitable washer or gasket ||E may be located between thecollar and the fixed filling head.

The fixed filling head, as indicated in Fig. 2 is provided in its undersurface with two or more elongated annular outlet ports ||1 and I|8 comfmunicating with threaded bushings I|9 and |20.

The under surface of the fixed head ||3 and the top Surface of therotary head |01 are in close and liquid-tight contact. The elongatedshape of the ports ||1 and ||8 causes the outlet spouts ||0 to be incommunication with these ports throughout an appreciable lengthoftravel. In order to keep the fixed head from rotating, it is connectedby a rigid bar |2| to a collar |22 vertically slidable on a post |23fixed on the frame or bed of the machine. Thus while the fixed headmaybe raised or lowered with the rotating head |01, it will not turn.

As will be seen in Figure l, a main inlet conduit |24 may be providedfor material to be filled into the container. Itmay be connected as by aconduit |25 tothe piunp 91. y Where it is desired lthat both pumpsoperate on the same material, a branch line |26 may be connected withpump I0 as shown. Under some circumstances it may be desired that thedifferent pumps operate upon different materials. Therefore, I haveprovided the pum'p |0| with its own separate inlet line indicated at|21. This line and the branch line |26 are provided with valves |28 and|29 for flexibility in operation. The pumps are connected respectivelywith the threaded bushings ||9 and |20 inthe fixed filling headhereinabove described. But since, for the filling of different sizedcontainers itwill be necessary to raise and lower the fixed andrevolving filler heads, flexible conduits are conveniently employed, ora slidable construction, such as that Vshown in Fig. l. Here the outletof pump v91 is a stand pipe |30termmating in a gland |3|, while theoutlet of pump |0| is a stand pipe |32 terminating in a gland |33. Pipeportions |34 and |35 are slidable respectively in these stand pipes andglands; and are connected respectively with the threaded bushings ||9and I 20 `in the xed filler head by means of rigid pipes-|36 and |31,and suitable ttings, as will be clear from the ligure referred to.

It will be apparent from Fig. 5 how the containers |04, moving along aconveyor |38 are deflected by a guide |39 onto the table |02 and intoengagement with the star-wheel |05. They move around clockwise with thetable and the starwheel, as indicated by the arrow in this figure, whilebeing filled. When they have completed the desired travel they areremoved from the table and star-wheel by means of a deector |40 so as tobe brought again onto the conveyor |38. Supplementary guide means |4|maybe provided to insure that the containers reach the conveyor. Whileengaged by the star-wheel, the containers move continuously, and duringthis movement they are lled. So that the containers may be properlyfilled, it is necessary that each container come into properrelationship with its filling spout. Therefore, it is necessary thateach container be properly seated in the space between the teeth of thestar-wheel. It is desirable to stop the mechanism if a container isdisplaced from proper lling position. To this end I provide a guidemechanism |42 in Fig. 5, which is fastened to an arm |43 pinned to asleeve |44 (see Fig. 6). This sleeve is journaled in a hub |45 on theframe. A bracket |46 bears a pivoted bell crank |41. One arm of thisbell crank bears, as at |48, a mercury switch. 'I'he other arm normallyrests against a stop |49 on the bracket |46. The sleeve |44 has fixed toits lower end a collar |50 which bears a pin |5| lying against the armof the bell crank, as most clearly shown in Fig. '1. If a container doesnot properly seat itself in the star-wheel, the guide member |42 will bedisplaced, rotating clockwise around the pivot for its arm |43. This,through the mechanism just described, will tilt the bell crank |41,operating the mercury switch. As will be appreciated from Fig. 10, themercury switch |48 is in parallel with the mercury switch 86 in thecircuit 68, so that if this switch is operated, the solenoid 38 will beenergized and the main drive clutch thrown out, as has already beendescribed. In order to maintain the guide means |42 in normal position,the collar |50, as shown most clearly in Figs. 4 and 6, bears an arm|52. The arm swings against an adjustable stop |53 whereby the lnormalposition of the guide |42 may be gauged. A compression spring |54 iseffectively located between a suitable external support and an arm |52to urge it against the stop |53. The exact details of this constructionare not a limitation upon my invention. I have shown in Figs. 4 and 6 astud mounted on the arm |52 and perforated to receive a rod which ispivoted on the frame. A compression spring surrounds this rod and bearsagainst a lsleeve thereon which in turn bears against the stud. Otherconstructions are equally suitable, and a tension spring pulling the armin the same direction may be employed. 'I'he guide mechanism |42, notonly is eective as described, in stopping 'the mechanism upondisplacement of a container, but by reason of its resilience is alsoeective in correcting minor displacements and in preventing jams.

Not only'is it necessary to stop the mechanism if a container isdisplaced from proper filling position; it is equally necessary to stopthe mechanism if for any reason a bottle should fail to enter one of thestar-wheel spaces. If this is not done, a quantity of the fillingmaterial may be lost. To this end I fix an arm |55 (Fig. 5) to a shaft|56. This shaft, as shown in Fig. 6, is rotatably mounted within thesleeve |44. Near its lower end it also bears a pin |51, bearing againstthe lower arm of the bell crank |41. A torsional spring |58 may surroundthe lower end of the shaft. One end of it may be iixed to a collar |58pinned to the shaft, and the other end may engage a suitable support. Inthe particular embodiment shown it has been illustrated as engaging thearm |52 as at |60.

The free end of the arm |55 is provided with a suitable bearing meanssuch as a roller |6| approximately in the plane of the star-wheel. Ii.as the star-wheel rotates, any one of its spaces should fail to hold acontainer, the arm |55 will swing clockwise under the influence of thespring |58, so that the pin |51 will operate the mercury switch |48 justas would the pin |5| if a container were not properly seated in thestar-wheel space. l

I have now described the essential mechanism of the particularembodiment of my invention, chosen for the purpose of making anexemplary disclosure. The operation of the mechanism will be readilyunderstood. 'I'he motor 2 drives the several operating parts. Thecontainers |04 are fed along the conveyor |88, and placed upon the table|02, and are engaged by the star-wheel |08. They travel continuouslywith this table. Each container is correctly positioned beneath itsparticular filling spout. Preferably, the containers are brought intointimate relationship with the filling spout by the platforms |05. Asthe container travels, the moving filler head travels with it,maintaining the relationship of the spout and the container. During thistravel, the spout is rst connected for a denite length of travel and,therefore, for a denite time, with the port ||8 fed with fillingmaterial at a definite rate by the pump 91. As the opening in themovable lling head passes this port, the supply is cut oli', but thespout is next connected for a denite length of time with the port ||1,fed at a fixed rate with lling material by the pump The pumps 81 and||l| are connected together so as to be driven at a fixed, predeterminedrelative speed ratio. Thus the relative amounts of material fed into thecontainer from the two pumps is fixed. The overall amount of material sofed, however. is determined by the overall speed of the two pumps. Thiscan be varied in gradual increments by the variable transmissionmechanism 85, and can also be varied by the mechanism which has beendescribed in connection with the two-way clutch assembly 13-1818. Thus avery ilne adjustment of the total quantity of material fed into thecontainer is possible, without changing the percentage of the totalamount of material fed by each pump. It goes without saying that if achange is desired in the relative amount of material'fed by each pump,this can be altered by making, in ways familiar to the mechanic, anappropriate change in the power transmitting connection between the twopumps. It may be remarked that a change in the relative quantities oi'material fed by the two pumps will usually be required only when it isdesired to introduce into each container, measured quantities ofdifferent substances.

Where each container is to be lled with a single substance the initialadjustment of the pumps may be made in accordance with the character ofthe material to be filled. With some materials it is preferable to fillslowly at first and then to continue the filling operation very muchmore rapidly. With other materials the reverse of this condition ispreferable. 'I'he drive between the two pumps may be so proportioned asto iill whatever relative lling speeds are found desirable; after whichthe speed of the common power transmission to both pumps may be variedto control accurately the total quantities of manecting each dischargingelement serially to each terials iilled into the container.

Where layers of dierent non-liquid materials,

` especially layers of diiierent color characteristics,

for example different flavors of ice cream, are to be filled into acontainer, some diiiiculty may be had because in the head constructionshown in Fig. 6, for example, a quantity of one character of materialfrom a previous filling operation may remain Iin the filling spout andthe passageway in the movable head. This will not affect the totalquantity of material lled into the container but may make it impossibleto secure distinct layers of equal volume. The diiilculty may beovercome by substantially limiting any space in the movable filler headand filling spouts in which material from a previous filling operationcould collect. In Fig. 11 I have shown a structure in which the nxedfiller head 200 is of the same character as before but in which themovable filler head 20| is kept quite thin.V The -lling spout as such iseliminated and the containers M14 are filled directly through aperforation in the movable filler head. This perforation has so littleinternal area as to retain substantially no material from a previousfilling.

For this purpose also, the lling heads and associated parts of mymachine are adjustable, as has been described.

By virtue of the safety devices hereinabove set forth,` the table of mymachine, thestar-wheel and the movable lling head, operated as a unit,may be temporarily disconnected from the driving means by the ballmechanism if an obstruction to operations is encountered. The operationy of the ball mechanism, however, also throws out the main drivingclutch, otherwise the pumps continuing to operate would overflow thecontainers then under the ports, with consequent mess and-loss ofmaterial. Secondly, if a container is not seated in proper fillingposition in the star-wheel, the mechanism will be stopped to preventloss of material. Third,.if any space in the star-wheel does not receivea container the mechanism will be stopped to prevent loss of material.

It will be clear that by a suitable multiplication of parts, theindividual containers may be lled in more than two increments, ifdesired. This is not ordinarily of importance, unless it is desired tointroduce into each container more than two different kinds of materialsor unless a very large tablel and star-wheel is employed.

Modications may be made in my invention without departing fromthe spiritof it.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

l. In a nlling machine. the combination of a continuously moving carrierfor containers, a discharging element for a container continuouslymovable with a container, a plurality of feeding means, andI means forconnecting said discharging element serially with said feeding means,each of said feeding means arranged to deliver a measured quantity ofmaterial per'unit of time, and means interconnecting said feeding means,whereby the relative rates of feeding are governed.

2. In a iilling machine the combination of a continuously moving carrierfor containers, discharging elements moving synchronously with thecontainer carrier, a plurality of controlling elements, each connectedby a closed conduit to a separate source of supply, and means forcons'ource of supply, driving means for said carrier, and a connectionbetween said driving means and said sources of supply, including aninterconnection between said sources of supply, and a variable speedmeans.

3. In a filling machine the combination oa continuously moving carrierAfor containers, discharging elements moving synchronously with thecontainer carrier, a plurality of controlling elements, each connectedby a closed conduit to a separate source of supply, means for connectingeach discharging element serially to each source of supply, and aninterconnection between said sources of supply fixing the relativefeeding speeds of each.

4. In a filling machine the combination of a continuously moving carrierfor containers, discharging elements moving synchronously with thecontainer carrier, a plurality of controlling 20 elements, eachconnected by a closed conduit to a separate source of supply, means forconnecting each discharging element serially to each source ofsupply,and an interconnection between said sources of supply xing therelative feeding speeds of each, and means for simultaneously varyingthe operating speeds of all sources of supply.

5. In a filling machine, a continuously moving support for a container,discharge means for said container movable therewith, a series ofsources of supply for filling material, means for causing the feedingspeeds of said sources gf supply to bear a xed ratio to each other, andmeans for connecting said discharging means in succession to each ofsaid sources of supply during the continuous travel thereof.

6. In a filling machine adapted to ll a container by successiveincrements during the continuous travel thereof, a discharge means, aplurality of feeding means, means for connecting said discharge meanssuccessively to said feeding means for predetermined lengths of time,and means for controlling the quantity of material fed into saidcontainer by varying the operating speeds of said feeding means.

7. In a machine of the class described, a prime mover, a plurality ofpumps, a variable speed connection between said prime mover and one f ofsaid pumps, a xed speed connection between said pump and another of saidpumps and means for rendering each pump effective serially in feedingmaterial into a container for a predetermined length of time.

8. A process of filling containers which comprises continuously moving acontainer, and during the continuous travel thereof, introducing intosaid container xed increments of material derived from independentfeeding sources, the relative rate of feeding of said feeding sourcesbeing xed, and determiningA the quantity of material fed into saidcontainer by varying the overall speeds of all feeding sources.

9. In a device of the class described, a rotating table, a plurality ofpumps and nlling means serially connectable with said pumps, meanspermitting stoppage of said table upon the occurrence of an impedimentto its movement, and means operated by said first mentioned means forstopping said pumps'.

10. In a device of the class described, a rotating table, a plurality ofpumps and filling means serially connectable with said pumps, meanspermitting stoppage of said table upon the occurrence of an impedimentto its movement, and

means operated by said iirst mentioned means for stopping said pumps.said means comprising a clutch eii'ective between said prime mover andsaid pumps, means for urging said clutch to disg engaged position, meansfor latching said clutch in engaged position and means for releasingsaid latch upon stoppage of movement ot said table. 11. In combinationin mechanism of the class described. moving means for containerscompris- 10 ing a support having spaces for individual con- `/tainers,lling means for containers comprising pumps, a prime mover for drivingboth the aforementioned means, means for stopping said `pumps if acontainer becomes displaced on said 15 moving means, and means forstopping said pumps if a container fails to enter one of said s aces.

p12. In combination with a rotary table and star-wheel, a prime mover, apower transmitting 90 connection therebetween, means movable by adisplaced container on said table for rendering said motion transmittingconnection ineiiective.

and means adapted to enter the spaces in said star-wheel in the absenceof a container to render said motion transmitting connectionineffective.

13. In combination in a mechanism oi the class described. a rotatingtable for containers, a prime mover for driving said table and a motiontransmitting connection therebetween, including a clutch, a connectionbetween said clutch and said table comprisinga movable member, aconnection between said movable member and said clutch eiiective tothrow out said clutch upon movement ot said movable member, adisplaceable guide means, a connection between said clutch and saiddisplaceable guide means effective to throw out said clutch uponmovement of said guide means, and means normally held displaced bycontainers on said table, and a connection between said means and saidclutch eiective to throw out said clutch upon movement of said displacedmeans.

PAUL R.

